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Parenting

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Original poster

Trampolines

32 replies

Snugglemonkey · 26/09/2022 21:18

Dc (6) wants a trampoline for Christmas. I have held off as I was worried about injury, but am not sure if I am being over cautious. Should I just get one? If I do, how do you pick a size?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Findahouse21 · 26/09/2022 21:22

I would advise getting one as big as your garden will allow - my dc often want to use it for other games as well so good to be able to fit 2/3 of us on there - obviously not bouncing but they like playing catch etc in a confined space. If you are strict with the rules and ensure upkeep then I think the benefit is worth it

Original poster

Snugglemonkey · 26/09/2022 22:16

Thank you.

OP posts:

Toddlerteaplease · 26/09/2022 22:20

Paediatric nurse here. Trampolines account for about 3/4 of our broken arms. So we hate them. But having said that. The surgeons who fixed the broken arms all have them for their kids. Just don't let more than one person on it and have nets.

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rcat74 · 26/09/2022 22:25

We have had one for years but my DD 8 broke her arm ( snapped ulna & radius) on the last day of the Summer term and I am now desperate to get rid of it. I’ve told my children if they want to bounce they have to have lessons to learn how to do it properly. I will never forget seeing her wrist dropped where her arm had snapped.

CoastalWave · 26/09/2022 22:27

Honestly? My daughter was an elite gymnast and I still wouldn't have one - she can bounce at the gym on professional equipment paying full attention.

If your child is just a child without trained skills, it's just a recipe for a dangerous accident. Take her to lessons first so they know how to bounce and no tricks unless they know what they're doing.

mummabubs · 26/09/2022 22:30

We had a 14ft trampoline with no net and up to 3 of us on it at a time growing up, with no injuries. However we'd all had a term of trampoline lessons and knew not to do anything silly. I think part of it is risk assessing how well you know your child and whether they'd be sensible /listen to rules. No activity is risk free and for me it was exercise that I really enjoyed.

WeAreLateAgain · 26/09/2022 23:14

They produce some of the worse injuries. The angle at which the kid falls can cause severe fractures. Even if a kid is alone in them.

AegonT · 27/09/2022 21:03

I think 6 is the minimum safe age for one. You could minimise the risk from having a net or digging an appropriate depth hole for it so the trampoline is at ground level. Also only ever 1 person on it at a time and no somersaults.

RelationshipsAreTooHard · 27/09/2022 21:07

Oh no. This thread is an eye opener. I've been wanting to get a trampoline for DD. I didn't realise they cause so many injuries. Are the injuries from falling off the trampoline? Or can they just get hurt if they fall on the trampoline itself but at ah unfortunate angle? I thought a net would mean they are safe.

ghostsandpumpkinsalready · 27/09/2022 21:12

My son when he was 6 snapped his leg in two places bouncing on a trampoline. 12 years later he still has a limp as he broke through a growth plate and needed lots of metal work put in his leg for it to heal 😩

Original poster

Snugglemonkey · 27/09/2022 21:16

This is a bit scary! They are sensible and have had trampoline lessons, but I am still very unsure.

OP posts:

Chdjdn · 27/09/2022 21:19

Reading about the level of accidents has put me off them to be honest; I’ve held off and DD has forgotten about the idea

WeAreLateAgain · 27/09/2022 21:20

On the trampoline mat itself. Surgical treatment is double for trampoline injuries compared to other injuries such as bike.
Spinal cord and head injuries are also not uncommon when children land on their head or with the neck bended.
It is not only the bones.
I witnessed an adolescent lose his front teeth on a trampoline during a summer BBQ party. The boy was jumping whilst holding the net with his hands, laughing and talking to his friends who were throwing balls. In a jump his face came too close, and his teeth got hooked in the net. He landed without them.
I will never get that out of my mind.

Trampoline, big NO

Mariposista · 27/09/2022 21:23

Please don’t get one OP. Kids get so excited on them and the injuries they cam get are devastating. I am all for physical exercise and being outdoors (we are a screen free household). Why don’t you get your son a set of trampolining lessons. That way he can enjoy it but with an instructor, learning to do it properly.

wonkylegs · 27/09/2022 21:31

We know our kids would love one, in fact so would I but we've talked about it loads and think that it's a good chance it would involve an a&e visit.
DH is a hospital doc and isn't keen especially with how busy a&e have been recently that we feel that it's more sensible to avoid it atm. We do know an awful lot of kids who have had broken bones from trampoline accidents.

iPreferBooks · 27/09/2022 21:35

The trampoline was one out of a handful of injuries I got as a child. I'm 23 now, and me and my parents have only just scrapped it!

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 27/09/2022 21:39

So far so good on the accident front but it only EVER gets used when other children visit and then everyone wants to use it. It's a bleddy eyesore that collects leaves and weeds/fox poo underneath.

What I should have done is worked out the cost of it and how many trips to jump or professional lessons and done that .

BertieBotts · 27/09/2022 22:06

If you only have one child it will likely be fine. Injuries tend to happen when you have multiple children on the trampoline at once. Although I suppose that could happen when friends are over.

That said I do let my kids go on trampolines with other people.

minipie · 27/09/2022 22:10

We got a trampoline, it was used for about 6 months and then ignored - except on playdates when it was popular, but I spent the entire time trying to regulate how many kids on at a time and terrified someone would be horribly injured on my watch.

They are also SO ugly which means you end up trying to tuck behind bushes and then it’s even riskier as you can’t see what new daft stunt they’re doing.

HighlandPony · 27/09/2022 22:15

Do not get the biggest trampoline in your area. You’ll have every kid in the village on it. Kids get injured with anything. Riding bikes, climbing trees, ice skating on frozen puddles, racing bogies down the fairway if the 11th hole 🙄at least they’ll be at home and you won’t have to figure out how to get them home from the tree swing up the woods

Lovetogarden2022 · 27/09/2022 22:18

I wouldn't get one personally - even with the safety nets I know a few kids who fell off and got tangled in the net. "Luckily" it was just a broken arm or fractured wrist or badly sprained ankle etc, but they could have easily ended up with much more severe injuries if they'd hit their head (a couple of them ended up dangling upside down with their dislocated shoulder stuck in the net)

purpleme12 · 27/09/2022 22:18

There are lots of children who don't injure themselves on trampolines you know!
My child has had one since she was 2 and I'm getting her a bigger one for her birthday when she's 9
She's been fine

findingsomeone · 27/09/2022 22:26

I was on a trampoline with a friend when I was about 11 and landed badly. I hurt my neck badly, tearing ligaments. I am 30 now and still have reduced movement on one side. If I sleep badly I can suffer painful cramps too, it was agonising for periods of time in the first few years after I did it.

My children will never, ever have a trampoline.

00100001 · 27/09/2022 22:31

You'll hear all the horror stories in these threads.

If we eliminated all risk and what not, kids would never swim, ride bikes, climb, run etc.

purpleme12 · 27/09/2022 22:35

00100001 · 27/09/2022 22:31

You'll hear all the horror stories in these threads.

If we eliminated all risk and what not, kids would never swim, ride bikes, climb, run etc.

I think it is with thinking about these and not just reading these threads and thinking oh no I won't get one. These threads do attract the horror stories.
My child had concussion and went to hospital as she just fell over like normal when she was playing and there was a few centimetre gap. Just when playing like every day. But nothing on a trampoline

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